We have expanded the list of climate policies we assess company engagement with to incorporate land-use related policy, referring to legislative or regulatory measures to enhance and protect ecosystems and land where carbon is being stored. Assessments under this category are currently underweighted in terms of their contribution to the overall company metrics. This weighting will be progressively increased over the next 6 months.
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Snowy Hydro is one of over 20 direct members of The Australian Energy Council (Last updated October 2022)
not specified
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InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Snowy Hydro is one of over 20 direct members of The Australian Energy Council (Last updated October 2022)
not specified
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Snowy Hydro is one of over 100 direct members of The Business Council of Australia (Last updated October 2022)
not specified
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Snowy Hydro is one of over 100 direct members of The Business Council of Australia (Last updated October 2022)
not specified
--no extract--
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Open PDF file of Data Source
Climate Lobbying Overview: Snowy Hydro appears to have a mixed position on climate change policy, with low overall engagement. The company has communicated broad top-line support for climate action and has engaged in mixed lobbying on a number of climate-related policies. Snowy Hydro also appears to adopt a mixed position on the energy transition, stating support for the growth of renewables and the phasing out of coal assets, while advocating for a long-term role for fossil gas in the energy mix.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Snowy Hydro’s top-line messaging on climate change appears positive. In its Corporate Plan for Financial Years 2023 to 2027, published in August 2022, the company expressed support for the Federal Government's 2050 net-zero target. Snowy Hydro also communicated broad support for further domestic emissions reductions in its April 2022 consultation response to the Review of International Offsets.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Snowy Hydro appears to have actively engaged in mixed lobbying on a number of specific climate-related policies in 2017, with more limited, yet increasingly positive engagement in recent years. In arguing against transmission use of system charges in a September 2021 consultation response, Snowy Hydro appeared to support State-based renewable energy targets. The company also appears to have displayed support for the Australian Federal Government’s stated emissions reduction target in an April 2022 consultation response.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Snowy Hydro appears to have a mixed position on the energy mix. In a March 2021 consultation response, the company appeared to welcome the development of Renewable Energy Zones across Victoria, while in a February 2022 consultation response it advocated for the fast tracking of transmission upgrades to ensure the ramp up of renewables in the energy mix. However, while July 2022 evidence suggests Snowy Hydro supports the phase out of coal in the energy mix, the company’s advocacy activities continue to emphasize the role of fossil gas as a transition fuel. As reported by Renew Economy in March 2021, CEO Paul Broad reportedly argued that fossil gas has a key role to play in reducing emissions across the energy system. Broad also appeared to suggest that the long-term role for natural gas in the energy mix is desirable in a February 2022 interview with the Newcastle Herald.
Industry Association Governance: Snowy Hydro discloses its membership to industry associations in its Corporate Plan for Financial Years 2023 to 2027. However, Snowy Hydro does not have a dedicated disclosure of its industry associations, nor does it publish an audit disclosure of its alignment with these industry associations on climate change policy. Nevertheless, the company is a member of The Clean Energy Council (CEC), The Australian Energy Council (AEC), and The Business Council of Australia (BCA). The CEC appears to be highly engaged and supportive of action on climate, while the AEC and the BCA appear to have more mixed engagement on climate-related regulations.
*In addition, Snowy Hydro is a company wholly owned by the Australian Government. State-owned enterprises likely retain channels of direct and private engagement with government officials that InfluenceMap is unable to assess, and therefore are not represented in Snowy Hydro's engagement intensity metric.